Lisa's story
by Athexreh
Summary: What is the beginning of one story but the end of another? Pre-BBS story. Slight AU
1. Torture

Me: See! I did type it!

Seth: You've had this one done for months and you didn't type it.

Me: …The point is it's here.

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Throughout the lesson, Ventus was struggling not to fall asleep.

He tried to focus on what the teacher was lecturing on, but it was difficult to pretend to care when he already knew the lesson.

If only he was a few years older he thought angrily, then he wouldn't have to be stuck with these bunch of incompetent losers. Hell, he could probably even use magic better than the teacher!

And yet he was stuck listening to the guy monologue about his past battles. Ven doodled on the paper he was supposed to be taking notes on and frowned. The guy didn't look like he would know the sharp end of a keyblade if he sat on it.

But Master Eraqus had decided he needed to associate with people his own age and here he was slowly being tortured to death.

He glanced up at the clock and nearly cried; only five minutes had gone by since class had started.

And the most depressing part, he thought bitterly, was the look of utter rapture on his 'classmates' faces. With a small snort he put the finishing touches on his stick figure and smiled ruefully. It was going to be a long day.

He was the first one out the door five hours later.

Catching sight of Terra and Aqua he rushed over to them.

"Freedom!" he yelled falling to his knees and clinging to their legs.

"It couldn't have been that bad, Ven", Aqua said with a smile.

Ventus frowned, "It was horrible!"

Terra laughed, "Then we have good news for you." "Master Eraqus has decided to take up another pupil", Aqua continued.

"She's around your age", Terra cut in. "So you don't have to come here every day." Aqua finished, giving Terra an irritated look.

Ventus ignored their argument; he was busy thinking. "Another keyblade wielder?" he thought bitterly, "Great, more competition. But on the plus side, if it gets me out of this prison, I'm not complaining. Much."


	2. Lisa

Me: here's the next part! Enjoy!

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The first thing she noticed was how quiet everything was: there was a garden, but nobody was sitting on the benches, the empty park swings creaked in the slight breeze; the air was old and musty.

Not that it wasn't beautiful but to a girl from Atlantis the place seemed artificial….. Fake. She'd been shown to her room earlier and she'd spent the time alone looking out the window.

No that the room wasn't nice, but it seemed too much like a cage…. Too enclosed….

There was a soft knock on her door, and a blue-haired girl poked her head in.

"Do you need everything?"

"Can I go outside?" she asked.

The girl smiled kindly, "Of course you can. Do you want me to accompany you?"

She shrugged, "If you want."

"I'm Aqua, by the way."

She shook the offered hand, "Lisa."

"Well, Lisa, nice to meet you. Shall we explore, then?"

Lisa wished she would have stayed inside. Then she could hold on to the idea that the gardens were beautiful.

Every blade of grass was perfectly cut exactly the same. Every bloom was bright and unnatural-vivid colors that only existed in paintings. The trees were tall and full of perfectly green leaves.

"Why aren't there any bees?" Lisa asked.

"Bees?" Aqua said with a quizzical look on her face.

She gave Aqua an incredulous look, "They're small and yellow and sting."

"Why would we want those? They sound horrible."

Lisa frowned, "But they're important."

Aqua looked around, "Can't be that important if they're not here."

Lisa sighed and stood from the wooden bench, "I'm going to walk around."

Without waiting for an answer she wandered away, sighing when she was alone.

The crisp grass crunched under her feet. And the sound filled her with intense sorrows.

She made her way deeper into the woods and soon found herself lost.

Not that it mattered though; she was content to be on her own. As she wandered on, the trees took on a wilder look; the air became fresher and the colors more natural.

She was delighted when she happened upon a small stream. The water was clear (perhaps a bit too clear) and small fish darted to and fro in its depths.

Smiling to herself, she followed the stream. As the earth became softer beneath her feet, her heart was singing in delight.

Here, at last, was true nature. The trees were old and gnarled, roots overlapping above the earth. The leaves were various shades of green and brown-most were drooping on their branches. Almost no light filtered through the canopy but it was real. She could almost imagine the birds that should be sitting on the branches singing to her and the cacophony of insects buzzing by.

And in that memory, the silence rang louder than ever.

Lisa sighed and rested her hand on the gnarled trunk of a nearby tree. It was so close-and yet out of her reach.

"What are you doing here?"

Lisa jumped at the voice and turned quickly.

Before her was a boy perhaps a few years older than herself. He glared at her with bright blue eyes.

She sputtered some sort of apology.

His glared intensified, "Who are you? You shouldn't be in here."

"Sorry," she mumbled, "got lost…."

He shook his head, "The only person who'd get lost here is either an idiot or a neophyte", he smiled, "And assuming you're not the former…"

Lisa blinked, "Ummm…"

The kid laughed, "I'm Ventus. And you're the new girl?"

Lisa frowned, "You know about me how?"

He grinned, "People gossip around here. Not much else to do unless you like watching paint dry."

"Oh. Well that is my favorite pastime so I must be in the right place."

Ventus paused, "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

Lisa sighed. She was starting to dislike this place over more; the people were as 'real' as the nature was.

Strike that; the nature was more interesting.

She walked over to a bush and stroked the closed buds, "You know what this place needs?"

"No."

"Hmm. Neither do I, but it's bugging me."

Ventus laughed, "You'll think of it when you're not expecting it. Come on, nature-girl; its dinner time."

The kitchen was huge: it could have easily fit a hundred people.

If there had been a hundred people in the room.

With the other three people there, the room seemed too large, too empty. Like the rest of the world she thought bitterly.

The others seemed at ease with the vastness around them, at ease in the oppressive silence. They joked and laughed, she felt an outsider in their good humor.

The girl-Aqua she reminded herself – was trying to draw her out of her self-imposed silence.


End file.
